1. Autocomplete REDCap Plugin
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Autocomplete REDCap Plugin
University of Iowa
Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS)

2. Autocomplete REDCap Plugin
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Autocomplete REDCap Plugin
Fred McClurg, Heath Davis,

3. Autocomplete Plugin Purpose
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Autocomplete Plugin Purpose
A REDCap plugin that offers autocompletion capabilities for selecting fields that have too many items to make a drop-down list practical.

4. Plugin Requirements No modification of the REDCap core system
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Plugin Requirements
No modification of the REDCap core system
Autocompletion for multiple fields
Store the autocompletion values in a separate REDCap database that could be shared by multiple projects
General purpose autocompletion capability that was not tied to a single database or project
Implement autocompletion into any existing REDCap project
Solution could be implemented by a developer with HTML skills or at least someone familiar with web development basics

5. Plugin Features Can be launched from within any REDCap project
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Plugin Features
Can be launched from within any REDCap project
Autocompletion takes place within an jQuery popup dialog
Uses a REDCap database for the autocompletion items
As a user types, the list items are reduced to those items that match the sub-string.  The desired item can then be selected from the filtered list
The dialog collects and passes the selected item to the REDCap data collection form.
Optionally, the plugin can use one field for the autocompletion list label and return a different field to the REDCap project field
Code Wizard to was developed to ease in building and testing the autocomplete plugin code.

6. Typical Scenario Possible uses: Doctor’s names Medicines City names
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Typical Scenario
(Also a REDCap
Project)
(For Data Entry)
Possible uses:
Doctor’s names
Medicines
City names
Diseases
Universities
Consortium partners
Auto- complete DB
REDCap Project
Source DB
Target
Project

7. Autocomplete Procedure
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Autocomplete Procedure
Create the REDCap "Source Database" containing the autocompletion list (doctors, medications, cities, etc). Take note of the field variable name of this autocompletion list label.
Optionally create a field containing an associated value. Take note of the field variable name of this returned value.
Create the REDCap “Target Project” to receive the autocompletion values for data capture.
Create a field variable within the "Target Project" that will use the autocompletion values. Take note of the field variable name.
Use the Autocomplete Code Wizard to assemble and test the code required by the Autocomplete Plugin.
Insert the appropriate code for the plugin into the Field Note or Field Label of the autocompletion field.

8. Autocomplete Plugin Documentation
REDCap Boot Camp
4/20/2017
Autocomplete Plugin Documentation
Autocomplete Wiki:
Example Code (within plugin):
Code Wizard (within plugin):
Download Source: